The Painter and The Poet
by EverPlotting
Summary: The day was more than bright and sunny. It was the first proper summer day of the year. It was the day that Sasuke and Naruto realized that, even with graduation fast approaching, they still had a lot to learn about chemistry.


**Just another quick drabble about Sasuke and Naruto. Inspired by _somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond_ by e. e. cummings. It's a really beutiful poem; you should read the whole thing. It's probably on the Internet somewhere. Google that.  
**

**Disclaimer: I own neither e. e. cumming's work nor Naruto or any affiliated settings, characters, etc. All elements of the plot are property of EverPlotting.  
**

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The Painter and The Poet

.

The radio only played static. Though the station indicator line flew back and forth only the sound of television snow could be heard. Naruto found it sort of ironic since it certainly wasn't snowing.

The day was more than bright and sunny. It was the first proper summer day of the year. The autumn has been deceitful – warm and crisp – leading the young blond to believe it would be a warm winter. It wasn't. Two or three major snowstorms later, Naruto had been more than ready for spring. But April showers didn't come until May, and now, as the month reached its final days, Naruto was glad to see the sun. So glad, in fact, that he took his old radio – it had served as his main source of music since he was eleven – and a blanket out on the lawn to read some poetry.

He probably looked as corny as he felt, but he didn't really care. Now was the time for being corny. Now before he left home and had to be everything but cliché. He had to make an impression on the world soon...

...but not today. Today was a very simple good. Giving up on the radio, Naruto decided to listen to rustling of the leaves, which a few weeks ago had only been small purple buds at the tips of the branches. The world was such a strange and magical place that sometimes he thought only poets could really see.

He reached for the first book he had brought and flipped through to a random page. Page forty-four. The poem was unexpectedly lucid. Naruto smiled.

His shot up at the sound of wheels pressing longingly to the gravel of his driveway. Book still in hand, Naruto rose to see who would be visiting him today in the middle of the afternoon. The sigh on an engine going to sleep and the slam of a car door later, Naruto found Sasuke leaning against his car, sunglasses blocking his eyes.

"Who are you reading this time?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto glanced down at his book. "Cummings. It's good. Some of them lose me quickly, though. Too many parentheses."

Sasuke chuckled softly and shook his head.

.

_in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me,_

_or which i cannot touch because they are too near_

_.  
_

"But some of them," Naruto continued, "are really beautiful. He's very crafty with his words."

"Like someone else I know." Sasuke had removed his sunglasses now, and a meaningful glance in Naruto's direction made it clear to whom Sasuke was referring. Naruto blushed.

.

_your slightest look will unclose me_

_though i have closed myself as fingers,_

_.  
_

After a moment of silence, Naruto cleared his throat. "Not that I'm not happy to see you or anything, but, um, why are you here?"

"Blunt as always." Sasuke shook his head. "I wanted to show you something." Sasuke went to his trunk and gestured for Naruto to follow. Matching Sasuke's short footsteps, Naruto awaited the opening of the small compartment. It contained a canvas – covered so Naruto couldn't see the painting within. Sasuke gently removed the sheet and it became more than just a canvas, it came to life with the image it contained.

It was a portrait of Naruto. The blond remembered when Sasuke said he needed a photograph of him for his art class, and he had eagerly posed, but this wasn't like the photo Sasuke had taken. Naruto had smiled exuberantly for the photo, but the portrait depicted him with a book held close to his face, blocking most of his features, save for his eyes.

"I was going to send this off to a contest, but I have others, and I thought you might like this for your dorm or something."

The thought of leaving was so exciting, but the thought of leaving Sasuke ... not so much.

.

_or if your wish be to close me,i and _

_my life will shut very beautifully,suddenly, _

_.  
_

"God, Sasuke. Why are you so talented?" Naruto asked, laughing. Sasuke smiled.

"I'm glad you like it. You have such odd taste."

"I blame my father." The laughter died into an appreciative smile, and Naruto, finding Sasuke's eyes with his own, thought of what a shame it was that they would be parting in the fall, and how little summer they had to enjoy each other's unlimited company. "Thank you Sasuke. I really love it."

"I knew I made the right decision giving it to you."

Both boys looked at each other, reaching toward something they weren't quite sure of. Neither dared to push their friendship from the precipice where it rested. Naruto couldn't deny the pressure in his chest whenever he could not hold Sasuke's gaze. The thought of Sasuke spending hours gracing a canvas with Naruto's image seemed to fill Naruto with helium; he wondered how gravity still managed to hold him on the ground.

It was always like this when he was alone with Sasuke, when he didn't have to share the brunette with anyone and he was happy being only best friends because he could see in the Sasuke's eyes that that other was happy; and when Sasuke was happy, Naruto was happy. Anything more than friendship was dangerous, might make Sasuke upset, might ruin everything. Naruto knew he wouldn't be able to go on without Sasuke.

Breaking their gazes, Sasuke put his sunglasses back on. Naruto's eyes only met his own in the dark mirrors. Sometimes Naruto thought a person's very being was in his or her eyes; it was strange knowing that his soul was still exposed, but Sasuke had managed to shield his own.

"So, I'll see you tomorrow then? At prom?"

Naruto smiled. "Yeah. Can't wait to see your tux."

.

_(i do not know what it is about you that closes_

_and opens;only something in me understands_

_the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses_

_nobody,not even the rain,has such small hands)_

_.  
_

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**Thanks for reading.  
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**-EverPlotting-  
**


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